Kate McDermott is a scriptwriter whose words have been heard in a long list of popular TV comedies and dramas. She began as a writer on Shortland Street, and later became a story-liner for the soap. McDermott then moved on to writing for series like Being Eve, Mercy Peak, Go Girls and Outrageous Fortune.

Kate McDermott is a scriptwriter whose words have been heard in a long list of popular TV comedies and dramas. She began as a writer on Shortland Street, and later became a story-liner for the soap. McDermott then moved on to writing for series like Being Eve, Mercy Peak, Go Girls and Outrageous Fortune. In 2014, McDermott’s own creation Step Dave became a popular series for TVNZ. Series two is now in production.

In this ScreenTalk, McDermott talks about:

• Making a mess of her first Shortland Street script
• Eventually becoming a story-liner on the show
• Bringing a little Shakespeare to hit kids show Being Eve
• Binge-watching episodes of Mercy Peak in order to write for the show
• Loving the freedom to write swear words in Outrageous Fortune scripts
• Becoming a showrunner for Go Girls
• Enjoying working on the comedy drama Nothing Trivial
• Initially declining a job writing for drama The Blue Rose
• Having to work at a fast pace creating season one of Step Dave

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

NZ On Screen: Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside